Breaching Insanity
by Mekae
Summary: What happens when Isaac is pushed off of the edge of his sanity by the looming responsibility he was given?
1. Default Chapter

_(AN: I wrote this story two years ago and started re-writing it just this past month to enhance the story. I haven't posted the original on here at all, so it should be pretty new. I hope you all enjoy it! It gets much faster as chapters pass.)_

_He couldn't take this any more, and they were no where near finished with what they had started. How could he have known that first step would be one on such a journey, a journey that would cause him to slip off of his own edge. The responsibility of what he had agreed to do was smothering him to the point where he felt like he was drowning, while forgetting how to swim. _

_Why did it have to be him of all people? He was the one chosen to save the world; he was the one to whom everyone looks. _

_Why did it have to be him? What if he tried and failed, what then? All of the pain and the suffering of thousands of people, those he loved among them, would be blamed on him. He hadn't chosen to do this. Why couldn't destiny have simply left him and his family alone?_

"Isaac! Look out!"

Isaac turned towards the voice that had brought him from his darkened thoughts, but he didn't turn in time. A force beyond one that he had ever felt before hit him in the side as he was thrown to the ground; his sword falling from his hands and spinning across the gravel road.

_Shit!_

He could feel the skin on his hands scraping onto the rocks beneath him as he scrambled forward towards where his sword idly lay, dragging his shield behind him. As much of a pain it was, he knew that without the shield the Wild Wolf that he heard growling behind him would probably eat him alive. The sword was almost in his hand once again, when he felt pain searing down his right side, causing him to cry out in shock as the wolfs claws ripped across his flesh.

"Isaac!" a girl's voice cried out in concern.

His arm curled back from its reach to the sword, and pulled the shield that he brandished up over his body to protect himself as the wolf jumped atop him. The pain of the gashes in his side was excruciating; he could barely draw in a breath without the pain causing him to pass out. Above him, claws screeched against metal as the Wild Wolf continued to bore down on him. There was nothing Isaac could do but hide beneath his shield, or be desecrated.

He tried to open his mouth to call out for someone to help him, but as he did so, he was hit hard in the side by flailing claws once more and the air that had filled his lungs was knocked out. Pain washed through him and his breath washed away. He clawed desperately at his mind for his Psynergy, but it seemed as if his Psynergy had turned to Mercury's silver water and it slipped through his grasp. His vision was beginning to darken as he gasped helplessly for the air that was stolen from him

_At least this will be a release from it all, if I die. _

Mia, a young and attractive girl with blue hair and a child-like innocence, ran forward as she raised her hands to cast the creature into death with the Psynergy of her Mercury clan.. Behind her, two teenage boys, one younger than the other, raised their hands to back her Psynergy if she needed aid.

Mia's hands began to glow a faint blue, as she began to allow her Psynergy to leak from her hands, and form into a deathly frost aimed at the creature.

Isaac's blood ran cold and his joints froze in place as above him, the wolf shrieked in pain as it was frozen alive. At first, he knew nothing of the death of the creature above him, since he could have almost assumed that the coldness coming over him was the cold hand of death coming to greet him.

The wolf fell frozen from atop the Earth adept, and Garret rushed over beside Isaac to help him. The frost covered shield that Isaac brandished hid him completely from view as Garret went to lift it.

"My god, this thing is frozen to him!" he exclaimed as he failed to lift the shield from him. He turned to face Mia.

"You hit them both!"

Mia grimaced as she walked up besides them both, leaving Ivan behind her to watch alone.

Mia felt along the underside of the shield, and touched a piece of frozen cloth. "Garret, the shield isn't the only thing I froze. Can you get it off of him?"

Garret didn't answer her as he touched his hands to the frozen metal. Closing his eyes, his hands glowed red as heat ran through them to the shield, thawing all frost that had once existed on it.

As soon as the shield had all heat restored, Garret threw it from atop of Isaac who lay curled up beneath it. His crazy blonde hair stuck up from all sides of his head, and his eyes were clenched in pain as he shook from both the pain, and the cold. Mia's eyes fell on the frozen blood that ran down his side. Her blue hair fell about her face as she reached down to him to heal his injury, when an ice cold hand reached up and knocked her own away.

She looked up into blue eyes that seemed colder than the person that they inhabited.

Isaac glowered at her, "Don't."

Mia frowned. "It's a bad wound Isaac, we can't just leave it to be untreated."

Garret reached out to help as Isaac tried to stand up, and was quite startled when Isaac wrenched his arm from Garret's grasp, not allowing him to help at all. Walking up beside her, Ivan looked at Mia quizzically as if to ask her what was going on. She met his gaze with the same confused stare he gave her, and shook her head, unknowing.

"What's wrong Isaac?" Ivan asked as he picked up Isaac's fallen sword and held it up to him. It was quite a bit heavier than his staff he was so used to, seeing as how Isaac was quite a bit stronger than he was. He struggled to hold it.

Isaac made no reply as he snatched the sword from him as he gained firm ground, though that task on it's own seemed to be difficult. The ground wouldn't stop tipping.

Mia took a step closer to him, her hand outstretched as to cast her Psynergy without his consent. She looked up at him, "Isaac..."

Once again, Isaac hit her hand away, turning to her once again to glare at her with his answer, "I said, don't."

Mia blinked in confusion and her hands fell down to her sides. She looked helplessly at Garret, who stepped forward to confront Isaac.

"Isaac you know that we can't afford to have any one of us hurt. The lighthouse is close now, and we can't risk having anyone wounded if we catch up to Saturos and Menardi before hand."

Isaac said nothing as he looked away from the three of them.

Ivan nodded in agreement with Garret. "He's right Isaac. We need you," he said quietly.

"Do you?" Isaac said as he barely so much as glanced in his direction.

Ivan seemed taken aback at the reply Isaac made, and looked to Garret and Mia. Isaac's eyes seemed to persist with his question as he stared at the other three who were struck silent.

"Do you really need me?" He asked again.

Garret frowned as he made his reply, "What are you talking about Isaac, of course we do. You are one of four, the four that come together to equal one. You are our Earth Adept. You lead us. We don't just follow you around out of boredom."

Isaac turned his gaze fully to Garret as anger and darkness began to form behind his usually friendly and open eyes. However, he couldn't hold his gaze long for the pain in his side was enough to cause him to wince, and he looked away as he held his side.

Mia broke from her silence as she stepped forward once again. She raised her hands slightly from her sides as she spoke, "Please Isaac, it isn't that big of a deal."

He turned from the three of them, walking as if to continue the path that they were on to Lalivero. His thoughts began to simply turn darker and darker in his head with every step he took. He just wanted to get away from it all.

Garret ran up beside him, "Isaac, she's just trying to help,"

Isaac spun around to him as he answered in anger, "That's what it's all about right?"

Garret came to a stop in front of him keeping Isaac's gaze locked with his own as Isaac continued.

"It's all just about trying to help, isn't it?" he asked of them all now, as Mia and Ivan walked besides Garret.. "Well, what happens then? What does your offer of help turn into?"

He stared at them all in silence as he waited for an answer. None was given.

He continued, anger and frustration seeping into his voice, "I'll tell you what it turns into. It turns into not only a responsibility, but the purpose of your entire life!" He turned his gaze from all of the others as he almost seemed to speak more to himself than to the three of them, "They don't ask you to help any more, and nor do you offer it." He looked down the road as he continued his thought, "Help is expected of you."

Garret's tall, spiky, orange hair moved with the wind as it came in a gust from the east, away from the desert that they had already traveled through. The wind caught Isaac off guard, blowing right onto his side, causing him to wince. Mia looked at him wishing he would let her help him.

He continued, "You're always expected to be the hero. You're always expected to save the day," he looked back up at them as his eyes seemed to truly ask them his question, "but what if you failed?"

Ivan shook his head.

Isaac looked at him, "You would be blamed. You, and no one else." He looked back up at Garret as he said, "But look at the beginning, at the first step you took. You had no choice in the matter, it was expected of you wasn't it?"

Ivan began to conjure small whirlwinds in his hands as he listened; a nasty, Psynergy-eating habit he had acquired with his companions whom also were known to do the same thing. He often did such things when he was thinking, or when he was uncomfortable. It was a great stress reliever.

However, he wasn't finding much comfort as he did this. A thought tugged at the back of his mind. Why was Isaac acting like this? Isaac was a kind person who never usually thought in such ways. What had pushed him this far? Something must have been eating away at him all this time, and it was triggered now by the fight they had ahead of them; a life threatening fight.

Isaac shook his head after a moment, "You would fail. They would all look down upon you. It's your job to save the world. It's your job to ensure life." He looked up at them all jealously. "None of you know what that's like!" His eyes burned with rage now, and his hands glowed green as his Psynergy leaked out with his anger.

"Isaac you aren't the only one on this quest," Garret answered defensively, "We're all in this toge-"

"No!" Isaac shouted vehemently.

Garret stopped short in his sentence as he stared at his friend in disbelief.

"No! No, none of you know it!" Isaac heatedly continued in his ranting. "You all joined because you volunteered for the cause! You all joined because you knew you could help save the world from Alchemy and it's power. You receive fame and glory for having either a large amount of courage, or a small amount of intelligence."

Garret began to counter this statement, but Isaac wouldn't allow him to as he said, "You would be famous. I bet you would love that Garret, wouldn't you?"

Garret's face flushed red, "What are you talking abou-"

Isaac interrupted him once again, "I bet you would love having everyone know your name. I bet you would love having everyone know that you were with the group that saved the world."

Garret was getting angered, "Isaac stop being so-"

Isaac turned away from him before he could finish, holding his side as he went. He refused to listen to anything further that the three of them might have to say. Garret began to go after him, calling him a coward for just walking away, but Mia grabbed him by his leather covered shoulder and held him back. Garret turned angrily to her in protest, but Mia held her grip.

"Let him go Garret." she said.

Garret stared at her for a moment, but eventually turned in anger from both her and Isaac who was stomping away into the woods besides the path. Mia looked past to Isaac as she held onto her staff. She looked down at Ivan, who had stopped conjuring whirlwinds and watched Isaac walk off as well. Ivan spoke, "I guess it finally got to him."

Mia frowned in confusion at what Ivan meant, but Ivan merely shook his head and walked back towards camp.

Isaac carelessly walked down his own made path, not focusing on where he was going. He knew that they wouldn't follow him, knew that his words had stung enough so they would leave him be.

He didn't want to talk to them after all he had said. He didn't want to see the hurt in their faces, or hear them ask if he had meant it. Had he?

Isaac looked up at the trees above him at first admiring their beauty, but his gaze turned into hatred.

Yes. He had meant it, with every fiber of his being.

His anger and jealousy caused him to walk further than he had anticipated walking. He wasn't really aware of how much time had passed while he walked, he only wanted to get away. If he had the choice, he would travel all the way back to Vale, back to the place where no troubles ever seemed to reach him. He would walk there and hold his hands open in front of him with his head down and say, "I'm finished, I can't do this."

As he thought this, he realized the stupidity of the idea. There wasn't going to be a time with no trouble in Vale anymore until he finished this quest. He knew that he was the only one that could possibly finish it. He knew that his friends would fail without him.

"Isaac you idiot," he said out loud to himself, "you too, would fail without them." Regardless of that fact, he made the decision that he wasn't returning back to them, not tonight anyways. He glanced up at the trees above him, noticing how dark it had begun to get. Getting back to camp wouldn't be possible this night if he planned on being able to see where he walked. Spotting a moss covered rock that seemed to be the perfect size for a pillow, he walked over to it in the middle of a dark clearing.

Pain seared up through his right side as he began to lean over to seat himself, and his breath caught in his chest.

"Damn..."

Sitting amongst the dead leaves and the broken branches, Isaac leaned himself back against the rock, as he pondered out loud, "For once, why can't it be me who get's helped?" He thought back to Mia and her offering. That was help, wasn't it?

Isaac shook his head. No it wasn't, it was a necessity for him to be alive to them.

As he found sleep catching him, his last thoughts ran through his mind before falling into a deep slumber.

_For once, why can't someone help me?_


	2. Chapter 2

AN: I know this has been a while…but here's a short update. More is to come soon.

As the sun faded behind golden trees, dusk fell over the sanded path whose road lead to Lalivero. She took quiet steps as she walked, so quiet that they were near inaudible amongst the night wind. With her eyes cast upward towards the surfacing stars, Zen silently contemplated what it was that she would achieve this night. She had previously heard a mind crying for aid, and she had taken her first opportunity to meet it.

Zen adorned a frilled poncho among her numerous amounts of varied jewelry and beaded ornaments. She looked like a gypsy re-awakened from years ago with spiked, blonde hair and eyes that would hold a gaze even at length. She was no average girl in any aspect. Standing out among her many necklaces was a single gem hanging from a beaded strand of string. With the lessening of the sun's rays and the glow of the moon, one could say it glowed.

With the same caution she had practiced upon approaching, she stepped into the calm and desolate clearing which held Isaac in his uncomfortable position. Sprawling himself out across the desiccated leaves, he looked to be in some sort of knot with his shoulder next to his ear and the rest of his body following suit. The spot of blood drew Zen's eyes, and she winced at his obvious pain.

However, her grimace turned to a smile when she thought of what lay ahead for him. A path that would truly exist; however, he would be given the option to live it before he would take the steps to get there. A dream of the future is what she would give him. She would grant him the gift of viewing the possibilities of what could lay ahead. Yes, she thought. This is what will aid him in his time of need.

With a faint glow of white upon her hands, she reached out to his cold and dampening forehead and let her fingers lightly brush his skin. Upon contact, the will of her Psynergy flowed unto him, and his dream began.

"The one time you ask for help, Isaac," she whispered, "you shall receive it."

Mia's eyes drifted slowly towards the moon as it began to brighten with intensity, and her worry deepened. Never before had Isaac simply wandered off by himself with no real goal or purpose, and then proceeded to stay away so long.

With her hands wrapped around her knees, she turned her gaze to the fire which lay at the center of their camp. What was it that made him snap at her so? What was it that ignited that fire long withheld? She had once before thought that Isaac was one who had finally begun to understand her, and in return, he had let her begin to understand him.

However, now she wasn't sure.

She glanced over at Garrett who lay peacefully snoring on the other side of the raging embers of their fire. She wondered if he had been affected at all at Isaac's abrupt outburst, or if he even cared. Garrett was much more used to Isaac than she. Maybe this kind of thing was common for him. Maybe it would pass…maybe. She would hate to see a friendship like Isaac and Garrett's scarred; a friendship that surpassed the meaning of even brotherhood.

Had everything she had assumed about him in the past been incorrect? She had thought she had been around him enough that even something such as the past day's event wouldn't cause him to become so angry with her.

As she stared into the orange flames, the fear came to her that she may have been wrong. She became to acknowledge the fear that what the two of them had shared along the lines of friendship may not have been as she thought. After all, what would it be that would cause him to say such things to even Garret?

Or her?


End file.
